Women’s groups and other protesters marched to the Delhi Police Headquarters on Saturday, raising slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleging mistreatment of women and transgender demonstrators during recent protests.
The protesters carried placards and banners and demanded legal action against police personnel accused of molesting and sexually harassing women and transgender participants during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The allegations were made by protesters and have not been independently established in the supplied report.
According to Live Hindustan, women’s organisations met police officials during the demonstration and submitted a memorandum. The groups also sought an appointment with the Delhi Police Commissioner. Their demands included action over alleged misconduct during protests and an inquiry into what they described as irregularities in the SIR process and alleged manipulation of elections.
The report, citing news agency PTI, said women’s groups and activists marched to the police headquarters. Left-affiliated women’s groups also participated in the protest. Some demonstrators demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, linking the demand to their allegations regarding the electoral-roll revision exercise and the conduct of the election process.
The demonstration followed allegations by three women journalists, who recently accused police personnel of sexual harassment, according to the report. Other women also made similar allegations during the protest. The supplied report does not provide details of the complaints, the identity of the accused personnel, or the status of any police investigation.
The protest comes amid a wider series of demonstrations in central Delhi. A group identified in the report as the Cockroach Janta Party held a ‘Tiranga March’ at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday. Police reportedly detained around 150 people during that action. The report said the group’s founder Abhijit Deepke was detained after leaving his home, while All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora was detained during the demonstration.
The report also referred to a proposed march from the Press Club of India to Jantar Mantar and a call by the Justice Morcha to have Jantar Mantar notified again as a designated protest venue. It did not state whether the proposed march took place or whether authorities granted the request.
Police deployment remained heavy in Connaught Place, according to the report. The latest protest therefore places two administrative questions in focus: how allegations of misconduct during demonstrations are investigated, and how authorities manage access to recognised public spaces for political and civic protest. The women’s organisations have sought a meeting with the Delhi Police Commissioner, while the other demands remain with the authorities concerned.
